|
| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Silent But Deadly
Researchers say industrial chemicals may be linked to increases in autism, ADHD |
|
08 Nov 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Silent But Deadly Researchers say industrial chemicals may be linked to increases in autism, ADHD Note to glue-sniffers everywhere: two researchers have suggested a link between industrial chemicals and an increase in brain development disorders like autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, terming the trend a "silent pandemic" affecting millions of children around the world. In an essay published online today in the U.K. ... |
|
| Topics: news, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Who's On First?
Officials in suburban Detroit point fingers over contaminated park |
|
07 Nov 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Who's On First? Officials in suburban Detroit point fingers over contaminated park You remember when Katrina hit, and officials spent their time blaming each other instead of helping people? This is sort of like that, only smaller, and with less wind. Unsuspecting families in a Detroit suburb have played in a contaminated county park for years while city, county, and state officials argued over a cleanup plan. Repeated soil tests in ... |
|
| Topics: Michigan, news, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Mother Knows Best
Fed up with breast-milk contamination, mothers form a national activist group |
Gregory Dicum |
06 Nov 2006 |
Main Dish |
| Mary Brune looked worried. "I don't know what the problem is," she said, peering at the generator in the grass. Attached to it was a blower that was, in turn, attached to a puddle of yellow nylon. The next morning, that puddle was supposed to inflate to become a giant rubber ducky, the centerpiece of a protest Brune was leading at a Target store near her home in ... |
|
| Topics: grassroots activism, green living, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Adventures in Agriculture
U.S. gets approval for ozone-depleting pesticide, despite international objections |
|
06 Nov 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Adventures in Agriculture U.S. gets approval for ozone-depleting pesticide, despite international objections Pursuing its goal of world destruction (mwahaha!), the U.S. won approval to continue using and making a pesticide banned under an international ozone treaty. The decision, which countered the recommendation of the treaty's technical committee, allows a 5,900-ton methyl bromide exemption in 2008 -- ... |
|
| Topics: food and agriculture, news, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
|
|
Standing on Protocol
U.S. requests exemption from ban on ozone-depleting pesticide, again |
|
03 Nov 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Standing on Protocol U.S. requests exemption from ban on ozone-depleting pesticide, again At a meeting in New Delhi this week, thumb firmly attached to nose, the U.S. is seeking to convince fellow signers of an international ozone-layer treaty that it should be allowed to continue to use and produce a pesticide it had agreed to ban by 2005. With a stockpile of nearly 11,000 tons of methyl bromide -- which not only deple ... |
|
| Topics: news, ozone, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
|
|
Huanhe or Another
China adds two more industrial accidents to the ledger |
|
02 Nov 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Huanhe or Another China adds two more industrial accidents to the ledger If it's Thursday, it must be time for a story about an industrial accident in China. And while we're at it, why not go for two? An ammonia leak at a fertilizer factory south of Beijing yesterday killed one worker, sickened six residents, and caused the evacuation of 20,000 people from their homes. Firefighters sprayed the area to fight the fumes, a creative soluti ... |
|
| Topics: China, news, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Waxing Philosophical
On dripless candles |
Umbra Fisk |
01 Nov 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, My family is a big fan of dripless candles. They're beautiful and don't provide piles of wax that tempt fingers into creating little messes. Can you tell us how these candles work and if they are environmentally "safe"? Anna Ruth New York, N.Y. Dearest Anna, For me, playing with melted wax was a cherished childhood tradition -- right up there with daring to slice through the flame with my finger. But like s ... |
|
| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
You Down With PVC?
On PVC substitutes |
Umbra Fisk |
25 Oct 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I know to avoid PVC, but it's difficult to know all the places it lurks. Is all vinyl PVC, or are there PVC-free vinyls? What options are there for waterproof but PVC-free materials (I have children who wet the bed and spill, and I would like to protect my mattresses and wood table)? I have tried asking merchants whether certain products contain PVC, but they are clueless. Why can't PVC be clearly marked? And are there a ... |
|
| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, green products, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Ghoul-y jewelry
Beware, ye Halloween pirates and princesses. |
Sarah K. Burkhalter |
23 Oct 2006 |
Gristmill |
| We just received a timely pre-Halloween press release from the Sierra Club, warning about the dangers of toy jewelry. Not the choking hazard, or the dressing-like-Mr.-T-for-the-fourth-year-in-a-row hazard, but the leaching-toxic-metals hazard. Toy jewelry, apparently, can have high amounts of lead. It also, according to the Sierra Club, has become a popular trick-or-treat item in recent years. (Thanks, but I'll take the candy. Unless you have a locally grown, or ... |
|
| Topics: fashion, holiday, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
License Plates Never Looked So Good
Inmates exposed to toxins in e-waste recycling program, says report |
|
23 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| License Plates Never Looked So Good Inmates exposed to toxins in e-waste recycling program, says report A federal recycling program that uses cheap prison labor to recycle computers and other electronics exposes inmates to unsafe conditions, says a report released by activist and environmental groups last week. Prisoners paid from 23 cents to $1.15 an hour by government-owned Federal Prison Industries, Inc., also kno ... |
|
| Topics: green living, news, recycling, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Chemically Dependent
Decades after Silent Spring, pesticides remain a menace -- especially to farmworkers |
Tom Philpott |
18 Oct 2006 |
Victual Reality |
| In 1962, Rachel Carson published her landmark Silent Spring, which documented the ravages of agricultural pesticides, particularly DDT, on wildlife. The book inspired wide outrage and helped spark the modern environmental movement. It eventually led to a (now-controversial) ban on DDT. But since then, use of other pesticides has boomed. Sign of the times? Photos: ... |
|
| Topics: agriculture, health, industrial ag, toxics, Victual Reality (all these topics) |
|
|
Filet of the Land
New studies give conflicting advice about the benefits and risks of eating fish |
|
18 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Filet of the Land New studies give conflicting advice about the benefits and risks of eating fish Two studies released yesterday are likely to confuse you even further about the benefits and risks of eating fish. A report from the Harvard School of Public Health claims that fish consumption can reduce the risk of coronary death by 36 percent, and total mortality by 17 percent -- benefits that far o ... |
|
| Topics: food and agriculture, health, marine life, news, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
She'll Tumble For Ya
On dryer sheets |
Umbra Fisk |
18 Oct 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, You mentioned toxic dryer sheets in your recent column on clothing, but without a reference to how they are toxic, etc. Lisa Milligan Fayetteville, Ark. Dearest Lisa, I appreciate the brevity and directness of your query. I'll strive to meet the same standards herein. Fresh air beats faux fragrance any day. Photo: iStockphoto As I mentioned parenthetically in my previous column, the contents of mainstream dryer sheets ca ... |
|
| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Hormones and Groans
Endocrine disruptors in everyday products may trigger early puberty |
|
17 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Hormones and Groans Endocrine disruptors in everyday products may trigger early puberty Some doctors worry that children as young as preschool age are facing a higher risk of early-onset puberty -- including breast growth and pubic-hair development -- due to the increasing prevalence of certain cosmetics, prescription drugs, and environmental contaminants containing endocrine disruptors or hormones. In rare cases, clusters of young ch ... |
|
| Topics: news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
|
|
Take Me to Your Weeder
Solar-powered robot could pick weeds and reduce herbicide use |
|
13 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Take Me to Your Weeder Solar-powered robot could pick weeds and reduce herbicide use Here's an innovative idea for limiting herbicide use: A solar-powered robot with 20/20 vision and depth perception that uses GPS navigation to search out and destroy weeds. As it moves along at three miles per hour, the two-foot-tall, five-foot-long robot, designed by engineers at the University of Illinois, can tel ... |
|
| Topics: food and agriculture, news, solar voltaic power, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
The Killing Fields
Study links breast cancer to farm work |
|
13 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| The Killing Fields Study links breast cancer to farm work October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Think that has nothing to do with the environment? Guess again. A new study of women in Windsor, Ontario, found that those who have worked on a farm are 2.8 times more likely to develop breast cancer than those who haven't. The research was published yesterday in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. "If you ... |
|
| Topics: food and agriculture, news, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Clothes Encounters
On synthetic fabrics and kids |
Umbra Fisk |
11 Oct 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I have just recently learned about all these plastic-awareness issues and now wonder about polyester clothing, or any human-made fabric for that matter, on my children (three girls: 3, 5, and 7 years old). If plastics can leach out into their bodies, can clothing also affect them? Julie Roberts Nevada City, Calif. Dearest Julie, The clothing we wear can affect all of us, as well as our environment. But should ... |
|
| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, fashion, green living, parenting, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Grace to the Bottom
W.R. Grace must pay to clean up asbestos mess in Montana, Supreme Court decides |
|
11 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Grace to the Bottom W.R. Grace must pay to clean up asbestos mess in Montana, Supreme Court decides W.R. Grace & Co. must pay $54.5 million to remove asbestos-contaminated soil from the mining town of Libby, Mont., the Supreme Court decided yesterday. The U.S. EPA sued the company five years ago to recover cleanup costs; a lower court ruled in the agency's favor an ... |
|
| Topics: environmental justice, mining and drilling, Montana, news, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
|
|
Rubber duckie, you're the one ...
Polluting my bathroom |
Gregory Dicum |
11 Oct 2006 |
Gristmill |
| You know that little rubber duckie in your bathroom? I always thought the little fella was sorta cute, nestled there between the shampoo and the loofa. Well, it turns out the little ducky's not so rubber after all -- it's plastic, namely the dreaded PVC. And it further turns out the bathroom is full of the stuff. Today, the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice is launching a campaign to get Target to remove PVC from their stores. The background is, Target (ap ... |
|
| Topics: green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Keep on Hawkin' in the Free World
Chemical-laden products banned by other nations are sold throughout the U.S. |
|
10 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Keep on Hawkin' in the Free World Chemical-laden products banned by other nations are sold throughout the U.S. To protect their citizens from dangerous chemicals, the European Union, Japan, and other nations have tightened their environmental standards for hundreds of manufactured products in recent years. Meanwhile, the U.S. EPA hasn't restricted any industrial compounds since an unsuccessful attempt ... |
|
| Topics: China, European Union, Japan, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
|
|
Gloom and Plume
Hazardous-waste plant explosion forces evacuations in Apex, N.C. |
|
06 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Gloom and Plume Hazardous-waste plant explosion forces evacuations in Apex, N.C. An explosion at a hazardous-waste disposal plant in Apex, N.C., late last night forced the evacuation of more than half the town. Some 17,500 people left their homes, and more than 40 have been hospitalized. The toxic plume that emerged from ironically named Environmental Quality Industrial Services is laced with chlorine gas and possibly pesticid ... |
|
| Topics: news, North Carolina, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
Does Silicone Count?
California will measure chemical levels in people's bodies under new law |
|
03 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| Does Silicone Count? California will measure chemical levels in people's bodies under new law The first state to measure how residents absorb chemicals from everyday products will be, of course, Arkansas. Ha ha -- you wish, Arkansans. No, it'll be California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed a "biomonitoring" bill Friday that calls on state health officers to collect voluntarily submitted sam ... |
|
| Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, news, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
A Stroke of Bad Luck
Lead still bad for you, and at lower levels than previously thought |
|
03 Oct 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| A Stroke of Bad Luck Lead still bad for you, and at lower levels than previously thought Lead exposure levels long considered safe for adults have been linked to higher death rates from stroke and heart attack, says cheery research in the medical journal Circulation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration suggests that safe blood lead levels for adults are up to 400 micrograms per liter, but the study -- which tracked 13,946 subject ... |
|
| Topics: news, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
The Amazing Technicolor Dream Cote
Ivory Coast scandal highlights illegal dumping of toxic waste |
|
28 Sep 2006 |
Daily Grist |
| The Amazing Technicolor Dream Cote Ivory Coast scandal highlights illegal dumping of toxic waste The recent dumping of toxic oil byproducts and subsequent deaths of eight citizens in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, has highlighted the shady world of illegal toxic-waste disposal. The practice of unloading nasties on developing countries was addressed by the U.N.'s Basel Convention in 1989 (you remember that one), ... |
|
| Topics: Africa, globalization, news, toxics, United Nations (all these topics) |
|
|
As Phosphate Would Have It
On phosphates in detergents |
Umbra Fisk |
20 Sep 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, Why haven't phosphates been removed from dishwashing detergents like they have been from laundry detergents? I know they make your clothing look brighter, but what do they do for dishes? Natalie Waddell-Rutter North East, Pa. Dearest Natalie, Phosphates in dish detergent do a few nice things for dishwasher-washed dishes. Their biggest contribution is that they essentially soften the effects of "ha ... |
|
| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, green products, toxics (all these topics) |
|
|
|
©2008. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with a sense of humor®.